By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were slightly lower in early APAC deals on Wednesday after major benchmark indices extended to fresh record valuations during regular trade amid stronger-than-expected third quarter corporate earnings results ahead of the Federal Reserve’s anticipated tapering announcement later in the session.
In regular trading on Tuesday, the Dow rose 138.79 points or 0.39% to 36,052.64, the S&P 500 added 16.98 points or 0.37% to 4630.66 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 53.69 points or 0.34% to 15649.6. All three closed at record highs for the third consecutive session.
Meantime, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.07%, while S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.08% and 0.11%, respectively.
Among stocks, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) rose 4.15% after third-quarter profit results topped expectations. DuPont (NYSE:DD) gained 8.79% as top and bottom lines beat expectations, and Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) added 4.14% after reporting. Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UAA) also soared 16.47% after revising its annual outlook. In after hours trading, LYFT Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) surged 11.98% on better-than-expected results, while Zillow Group Inc (NASDAQ:ZG) dipped 11.18% after announcing it will close its home buying and flipping business. According to data from FactSet, 83% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far this earnings season have beat consensus expectations, despite ongoing supply chain disruptions, labour shortages and inflation fears.
Meantime, investors are squarely focused on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to announce an end to its bond-buying program on Wednesday at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. They’ll also be listening for clues on when the central bank plans to raise interest rates.